Science and History at Elk Island : Conservation Work in a Canadian
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Canadian Heritage Patrimoine canadien ••• Parks Canada Pares Canada Microfiche Report Series 525 Science and History at Elk Island: Conservation Work in a Canadian National Park: 1906-1994 by Graham A. MacDonald 1994 Science and History at Elk Island: Conservation Work in a Canadian National Park: 1906-1994 Graham A. MacDonald Alberta Regional Office Historical Services Canadian Department of Heritage Parks Canada Calgary, Alberta 1994 The Microfiche Report Series is intended for internal use by Parks Canada. These Microfiches are distributed to various pub lic depositories in Canada for use by interested individuals. Documents are reproduced exactly as received and have not been edited. Acknowledgements In the preparation of this report the author acknowledges the assistance of a number of persons and organizations. Chuck Blyth, Chief Warden, Elk Island National Park; Murray Christman, Heritage Communications Officer, Elk Island National Park; David Kaegi, Park Management Planner, Alberta Regional Office, Parks Canada; Katherine O'Brian, Public Participation Co-ordinator, Alberta Regional Office, Parks Canada; Kurt Seel, former Head, Natural Resource Conservation Division, Alberta Regional Office, Parks Canada; Marty Magne and Gywn Langemann, Archaeological Services, Alberta Regional Office Parks Canada; staff of the Public Archives of Canada, Reading Room; Jeff Murray and Patrick Burden, Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa; staff of the Public Archives of Alberta Reading Room, Edmonton; Professor John Wadland, Department of Canadian Studies, Trent University, Ontario; Professor Donald Worster, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Contents AcknowlcdgcmcnL~ Contents ll lntr<xluction 1 Chapter One Land and Life in the Beaver Hills to 1907 4 Chapter Two Threatened Wildlife and the Development of Elk Island National Park, 1906-1930 15 Chapter Three Elk Island Park in the Context of Wildlife Management Ideas, 1870-1945 27 Chapter Four Conservation Practice at Elk Island: 1930-1970 36 Chapter Five Parks and People at Elk Island: 1930-1970 50 Chapter Six Dissolving Park Boundaries: Wildlife Management in the Urban World of Elk Island National Park: 1970-1994 56 Bibliography Maps Following Page Map 1 Elk Island Park Regional Context 1 Map2 Elk Island in the 'Parkland-Borcal Transition Zone' Map3 The 'Aspen Parkland' in relation to other vegetation zones 4 Map4 Proposed Native Occupancy of the Beaver Hills Region: c. 1700 6 Map5 Palliser's Map. 1858 7 Map6 Political Map of the Prairies, 1870 9 Map7 Map of Treaty Areas on the Prairies Map8 The Cooking Lake Forest Reserve. 1899 Map9 Regional Setting and Rail Routes in the Elk Island area. 11 MaplO Elk Island Park. Historic Land Use and Settlement Post-1870 18 Map 11 Cottage Development on Astotin Lake, 1920s 19 Map 12 Elk Island Park Expansion: 1906-1947 22 Map 13 The Long-term "draw-down' effect in the Beaver Hills area. 37 Mapl4 Movement of Bison Herds and Stocks, 1870-1980 45 Map 15 Distribution of Bison in Western Canada: 1985 Map 16 Elk Island National Park: Land Use: 1906-1983 51 Map 17 Wood Bison Zone, Elk Island National Park. 1983 Map 18 Recreational Areas, Astotin Lake Area Elk Island National Park. 1940s Map 19 Elk Island and its Neigbours. 1992. 65 Figures Fig. la Aspen-Parkland Lowland Succession. Following p. 59 Fig. 1b Aspen-Parkland Upland Succession. Fig. 2 Ungulate Populations, Elk Island : 1906-1990 Following p. 60 ii Plates Native Bison Pounding c. 1820. After Sir George Back. Following p. 8 Cree of the Beaver Hills, 1890s. Fort Edmonton: 1870s Sturgeon Creek Post (NWMP) c. 1884 Fire in the Aspen Parkland Following p. 10 Fire on the Prairie. A Native Elk Hunt. Early 19th Century Following p. 15 Bison in the Missouris country, c. 1860 Lakota Girl in Elk Tooth Dress. 1890s. Elk Hunt. Ycllowstone National Park. 1882 Bison bones gathered for commercial shipment. Following p. 17 Contemporary Cartoon by Charles Nast. c. 1874 Hon. James McKay. c. 1875. Pablo Allard and his Wife c. 1907 Round-up of bison on the Flathead Reservation, Montana. 1908. Bison being discharged from Trains, Lamont, 1907 The Superintendent's Residence, Elk Island. c. 1912. Following p. 31 Dr. B.l. Love. Superintendent, 1937-1959 Cooking Lake. Recreationists, c. 1900. Following p. 36 Severely lowered lake water levels in the Beaver Hills, 1930s. Louis Pasteur dictating notes to his wife, c. 1865. Following p. 43 Dr. Robert Koch in his laboratory. c.1880 Hoyes Lloyd and Percy Taverner at Oak Lake Manitoba. c. 1925 iii Old Corrals at Mud Lake, Elk Island National Park. 1992. Following p. 44 Plains Bison and mature aspen growth, Elk Island, 1992 Frank Oliver, c. 1900. J. Dewey Soper. c. 1940. Town of Lamont, 1992 Following p. 52 Ukrainian pioneer dwelling reconstruction. Sandy Beach area. Astotin Lake and Aspen shoreline growth 1992. Following p. 57 Spruce succession on Island in Astotin Lake, 1992. Old Warden Barn, Elk Island, 1992 Following p. 64 New Bison Handling Facility. 1992 National Historic Sites and Monuments Board Plaque Commemorating Bison. Sandy Beach. Trumpeter Swan Habitat Group. Provincial Museum of Alberta. iv Introduction Elk Island National Park, lying in the Beaver Hills east of Edmonton, is relatively small in geographic terms when compared with some its more expansive mountain and prairie counter-parts. (Map 1) It has played an important part in 20th century Canadian conservation of endangered species however, and that role, defined at its very beginnings in 1906, gradually led to a certain ambiguity as far as its ideal character as a park is concerned. That ambiguity is one shared, at least partially, by most National Parks by virtue of the early guiding legislation and the National Parks Act of 1930, which required National Parks to fulfil a number of social and conservation functions. Contradictions sometimes arise as a result, bringing these purposes into conflict. A general example of such a situation grew out of the early decision to allow the existence of townsites in many of the National Parks. This led to a progressive shift of budgetary and managerial resources into the administration of those townsites. More specific to Elk Island was a conflict which did not grow out of a townsite as such, but out of a need to cater to various types of regional visitor demands in parallel with the administrative requirements of an ambitious ungulate conservation program. The latter had to take place on a fairly small and confined land base in which the normal cross-country flow of wildlife was severely proscribed. In more recent times, these various conflict situations have been considered within a somewhat more theoretical framework in which park managers have been seeking to answer such questions as: what kind of general ecosystem prevailed historically in the Beaver Hills region? and: what are the implications of a correct characterization of that historic ecosystem for wildlife management? Such questions have led to a reconsideration of just what is meant by the landscape definitions 'Aspen Parkland', the 'Northern Boreal Forest' and by the more recent 'Parkland-Boreal Transition Zone' an area which by 1975 had been postulated to lie between the two major forest zones. l The Beaver Hills region is now considered by many to lie within this 'Parkland-Boreal Forest transition zone' .2 (Map 2) While the term 'Aspen Parkland' has a fairly well-accepted meaning in the literature, its boundaries have been subject to shifts associated with climate change throughout post-glacial history.3 In general it is represented by a large arc of central prairie lands marked by a mix of grasslands and forest.In this arc the dominant species is Aspen, but coniferous growth is also found in valleys, wetland margins and in areas of natural succession where fire has been a minimal Map 1 The Context of Elk Island National Park and the Western Mountain Parks I i ; i I i I I ALBERTA jSASK. B.C. ; I ! i ! i I ; ! I i i I I i I i \ ELK ISLAND i i" NATIONAi. \ .,,. i i ! . i\\ i~\.·, \ "\ l ! ! (l \,WATEATON l ES ! ·-·-·-·-·-· \.·~ .... I • -·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·---.1;t!h.J. _________ ·-· -· - . ____ i _____ _ influence. The relationship of the Aspen Parkland Belt to short, mixed and tall grass prairie belts on the prairies is illustrated in Map 3. The northern zones of the Aspen Parkland are often characterized by transitional features in which aspects of the Boreal Forest to the north may be found. Elk Island National Park has often been described as a landscape demonstrating these transitional features, and indeed, some have argued that its character is more in keeping with the boreal lands to the north rather that with the parkland or prairie aspect.4 Others have taken a contrary view, and argue that the fundamental features of the contemporary Beaver Hills have been induced by post-1890 public and private fire suppression policies, watershed diversion activities, tree-planting, and the decline of a presumed long-standing natural fire regime which worked to maintain large stretches of open grassland amongst groves of aspen.5 According to this latter interpretation Aspen Parkland forests seldom moved through a natural succession to coniferous forest, such late growth succession being confined largely to valleys and wetland margins.6 These arguments as to the fundamental historic character of the Beaver Hills are not merely arcane, but have a good deal to suggest in terms of any proposed ideal wildlife and vegetation management regime.7 In the 1993 draft Management Plan for Elk Island National Park, certain fundamental changes in approach to landscape and wildlife management have been recommended. The present paper seeks to clarify some of the historic realities of Beaver Hills land use and to detail some of the management programmes and conflicts which have been of concern to park managers over the years.